my 28 hr flight home

Ok so here I am, sitting in the airport (its 8:05am EST)....I like coming in early so that I avoid hassles. I didn’t get any hassles today, maybe because I remembered to shave. Anyway, I didn't have problems with airport security today...well, at least not here in Fort Lauderdale.

But it is not to say I didn’t have issues, there was traffic going into the airport, again it was a good thing that I left early. As soon as I got in I went to check in my bags and lo and behold I get shuffled to three queues. finally on the third queue I was attended to and served.....again.....issues, they couldn't figure out my ticket some how the airline screwed up my name...am not sure it was the airline or the travel agent but they got my name wrong on the ticket. somehow it showed up with an extra character space on the e-ticket and not on the reservation.....and as intelligent as airport ticketing systems go....they are not recognising it....with the intervention of some good people (they were still helpful since it was only 6:45 in the morning) they were able to fix it but again with the issues....they weren't able to give me my connecting flight's boarding pass......and I was hoping to breeze through LA international.

long story short, the ticket got squared away and I was happy......but not for long, one of my bags was overweight by 5 lbs. so I had to open both bags and transfer some stuff to even out the weight......its a good thing I always remember to pack my undergarments at the bottom of the suitcase.....that thing settled, I was on my way to go to my gate.

I picked a nice place to sit, right next to an AC outlet so I could use my laptop....I was all alone for a about half an hour, sitting quietly reading my e-books and guess what....a family with four kids sits next to me.....as big as the waiting area was...they had to chose the bench next to me....they were noisy, the kids were unruly....food was spilling....just your typical day at the airport...oh well, its time for me to get something to eat...I’m hungry.

Boarding the plane always has its nuances, people seem not to listen to the PA system, as soon as they hear that the flight is boarding, they crowd in front of the gate, just standing there knowing they won’t be allowed to enter anyway. They are always in a rush to get seated and once inside the plane they take forever to find their seat….that is something I cant understand….why is it that passengers have to check each and everyone of the seats while looking for their assigned seat numbers….go figure?....if you enter the plane and you are pointed to the general direction of your seat, look at the first number you find and match it with your seat number ( you should at least know your seat number by now), if your seat number is 32 and the first sit you see is 12….it means you keep walking past 20 more rows of seats…..you don’t have to bloody stop at every seat trying to check if 32 comes after 12…..and the funny thing about this is most people who travel are not first time travelers…..may be their first time in that particular airport or airline, but definitely not the first plane they have boarded….So I finally get seated and good enough I get rewarded for all of this waiting with an “exit” seat and no seatmate….cool, looking for a few hours of sleep, after all it is a 5 hour flight.

I was able to grab a few minutes of sleep at first, since I am on an aisle seat, the stewardess would tap my shoulder every time she and her refreshment cart would pass by. I was able to doze of again after the food service since most people didn’t get anything since you now buy food on domestic flights.

I arrived safely at LAX at 12:07 PST and now on to a new adventure the 10hr layover. Now here is the other thing that I have observed about people on planes, and this thing transcends all ethnic boundaries, whether you are an Asian, Caucasian, European or whatever, as soon as the plane comes to a stop, everybody removes their seatbelts, stands up, get on their mobile phones and start getting their bags. This is a wonder of air travel; would you get out of the plane faster if you stood up first? Would you be able to get your bags from the baggage claim area faster than anyone else? Would you clear customs and immigration ahead of all the passengers? It just completely amazes me to this day and mind you I have traveled a lot and have seen the same thing over and over again. That is why I try to leave the plane as late as possible.

I walk into Terminal 4 and asked for directions going to the Tom Bradley International Terminal…I got in without incidence and looked around for my ticket counter….and guess what, the counter opens at 4pm…so now I’m stuck in airport limbo before I can proceed to my gate. So I look around for the essentials….the food court, a coffee shop, restroom and a place to sit down. I got some Chinese food for lunch which was palatable enough. I scoured the gift shops, which were all over priced, for some souvenirs but decided otherwise. The duty-free shops were not any good either, well maybe because I did want to buy any smokes or liquor. So now I wait, it’s 2:30 PM and I am running out of options to do.

It is now 4:30pm and the ticketing counter is open, quite early for a 10pm flight, and now I know why. There was a long queue of passengers and each one having at least two huge boxes with them aside from their personal check-in luggage and their carry-ons and most of them are old people or senior citizen couples. It took me one and a half hours to get checked-in and I only spent 5 minutes on the counter.

The time is now 6:15pm and I am sitting at the gate…..still waiting for another 16 hour flight…this seems to take forever and mind you for an airport this big they should at least have facilities to entertain people who wait longer than 4 hours between flights. The nicest airport I have been to that looks after the passengers well being is the International airport in Singapore, they have lockers that you can rent so that you don’t have to tow your carry–on luggage everywhere you go, they have a hotel within the airport, nice restaurants not like this food outlets here at LAX, smoking lounges, wide screen TVs and the duty free shopping is second to none. Now that is an international airport. As big as a city as Los Angeles is they should greatly improve this bloody airport. For now I will be sitting in the airport, waiting and trying to rest and prepare for this long journey.

This is the longest wait ever, and LAX is the worst airport I have been in, it is so noisy and the people seem to just not listen to what the announcements are. The only nice thing to happen during this long wait was that I came across Cindy Crawford at the terminal.

We board the flight an hour late….I don’t know why Filipinos travel with so much luggage…and these are old folks. It takes so long to board, bloody hell. So I sit myself on my assigned seat…the exit seat…I can fully stretch my legs and I started to make myself comfortable so that I could sleep…..but as my luck would have it, people are just so insensitive to other people…they couldn’t care less if they hit my legs while going to the bathroom or they grab on to my seat trying to walk the passage way…result….i wasn’t able to get to sleep longer than 15 mins at a time. I am so bloody tired. To make things worse we wait like an eternity for the luggage to come out of the carousel….I was praying that my luggage doesn’t get lost in all those boxes. I did get to see my luggage again I thought it was going to be with out issues….but as you guess it, my suitcase comes out damaged and it is a brand new suitcase at that. At least I am home…..can’t wait for my next trip…..cheers.

smoking or non-smoking

today marks the 14th day that i haven't smoked.....or it has been 2 weeks since i last smoked....or i am smoke-free for the last 2 weeks......anyway you look at it, i win.

its great not being able to smoke, or at least stopping it. it changes things, your perspective, your insights.....your smell....hahahaha.......i never realised that smokers have a particular smell, that musky, tobacco smell.....i just can imagine what it does to other people.

why did i stop....well i just wanted to, am not a heavy smoker, a few sticks a day at the most not really a heavy one. i just decided to stop, that's it.......do i crave it....not the least bit.....a good decision.....everything to gain.

wish i could have done this earlier....but it's never too late to start.

cheers.

my mom

thought I wasn't going to do this, but I just couldn't help it. I miss my mom, she passed away 3 weeks ago.

she was a strong woman, in every sense. when I was young I used to think she was invincible, I never saw her get sick or anything. she never got tired, I would always see her doing things at home, cleaning, cooking ironing, helping us with our school work, always looking after us.

she had a heart of gold, a hearty laugh and a compassionate soul. she always took care of us, even my kids. she always thought of us even to the very end.

I shall miss her very much, but I am relieved in a way that she is now in a happier place with my dad. she had to endure a lot for the past 5 years, with her failing eyesight due to glaucoma, her aching joints due to arthritis, the loss of my dad 2 yrs ago and then losing her leg due to complications with her diabetes.

I hope we were able to make her life comfortable the last few years and moments she had, we tried our best. she was never to complain, but I knew she was deeply saddened with the loss of my dad for she loved him very much. my dad spoiled her but in a good way.

I am now without both my parents, but at least they saw us become professionals and I just hope we made them proud of what we have become.

I shall instill what I have learned from them on my own children and try my best to be like them.

I am going to miss my mom and my dad.

thank you to both of you for making me what I am today. I will continue to do you proud.

I love you!

the power of prayer

it was Friday morning and was supposed to be a regular visit to my mom, who is in the hospital for a mild stroke. (This is quite an ironic term since a stroke is a stroke, it may not lead to cardiac arrest, but it still affects your heart and the people who care for you), anyway, so we get there and people are all over my mom, her vitals have dipped to near fatal lows and they are doing all they can to make her comfortable.

We were all surprised as she was laughing and quite jolly the night before.

At this point each of my siblings, I am sure are mumbling their prayers in their head. I myself have been talking to God the whole time.

And then the dreaded TALK was inevitable, we sat in a conference room with the doctors and we were given the current scenario. I have prepared myself for this a long time ago, knowing that my parents are not getting any younger. But even if you are prepared you still have this feeling that "this is not happening to me," so we sat there and discussed things, and options and eventualities.

This was going to be one of the most difficult and most important decision I had to do, the good thing is all my siblings had the same decision.

Long story short, my mom is in quite stable condition, her vitals are doing good and her heart and kidneys are holding up to the medication.

At this point, I would thank all my friends, relatives and loved ones who have showed what the power of prayer could do. All her doctors were surprised at her recovery, but still we have to watch her constantly.

I love my mom, she is the sole reason why I am here and why I am what I am right now.

I am still ready for anything that will happen, I just wish it won't be put to the test again.

We breathe easier for now, but we continue to support her with everything we have.

Thank God!